29-Day Giving Challenge

The concept of a 29 day giving challenge caught my attention very quickly.

I have been concerned about how self-absorbed I am becoming. I could blame it on perimenopause or whatever, but the truth is, I was finding less time for others and was focusing far too much on me.

When I read the story of the founder of 29gifts.org - and how this was born of her pain and how it healed her, I was hooked.

I thought I'd wait a bit though, until life settled down and there was more order in my life. But as I read through the site, I was challenged. And realized there's no time like the present. (Pun intended.)

The idea is to give a gift every day for 29 days. Sounds quite easy. The best part is that it forces me to look outside myself. To look for opportunities. Gifts can be as simple as throwing a bit of extra money into the charity jar at the coffee shop. Or giving a gift card to someone who asks for money. Or even brightening someone's day by buying that chocolate bar from them when they knock on your door. There are lots of ideas on the site because everyone there is in this journey together.

At work we are doing a "1000 Acts of Peace" challenge, which is to do 3 acts of peace per day and write them down. It's a great idea, but I haven't been writing things down. It occurred to me that every gift is an act of peace, so by signing up for this, I can do both at once.

I have reached out to more friends in the last 3 days than in the last 3 months (maybe a slight exaggeration, but only slight), so it is working. And it has been very fulfilling. You can't give without receiving something. So I feel enriched and blessed today.